microsoft

Infopackets Reader Joe M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running Windows 10. When I go to Hotmail (Live.com) to login and view my emails, I am automatically logged into my account. I would much rather be able to log into my Live email account manually, ... but I don't see an option for this. How can I disable the Hotmail automatic login? Other people use the computer and I do not want them gaining easy access to my email account. I'd rather I had to sign in every time. Thanks for any help you can provide. " My response: With the release of Windows 10 last year, Microsoft has integrated many of its ... (view more)

In a move surely to upset many users, Microsoft has said it will be ditching support for Windows 7 and 8.1 on most new PCs. Some other PCs will lose support next July, earlier than many expected. The change is to do with the Skylake micro ... architecture for processors released by Intel in August 2015. Many PCs purchased recently will be running Skylake, as will most in the future. Until now, Microsoft had promised to offer extended support for Windows 7 until January 2020 and for Windows 8.1 until January 2023. Extended support means Microsoft continues to fix bugs and issue security updates, ... (view more)

Microsoft has officially dropped support for Windows 8. The move leaves an estimated 30 to 50 million devices needing an upgrade to get security and usability updates. The move, which takes effect with this weeks updates, is potentially confusing as ... Windows 7 is still supported by Microsoft. Additionally, this isn't the usual support timetable that applies to older editions of Windows. Instead, Microsoft is simply dropping support for Windows 8 where users haven't applied the first major batch of updates. Previously that was known as a service pack, but in this case Microsoft chose to ... (view more)

Rumors suggest that Microsoft will allow Windows 10 users a way to access mobile data connections without having to deal directly with mobile carriers. The system would require a special Microsoft SIM card , and could make life easier for people on ... the move. There's no official confirmation Microsoft yet, but the company has already published an app in the Windows 10 store. At the moment the app, simply titled "Cellular Data", appears to be a placeholder while the 'further details' link points back to the main Microsoft website. The app description says it will let customers ... (view more)

Microsoft claims 200 million devices are now running Windows 10. Independent estimates suggest the figure may be credible, but a variety of factors make it hard to label the number as a clear success or failure. The 200 million figure is said to be ... based on devices connecting to Windows Update. It represents the number of different devices that have connected - and thus shown they are switched on and running the system - at least once over a one-month period. (Source: windows.com ) Independent Estimate Suggests 164 Million While it's impossible to independently verify the statistics, the ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed it automatically uploads Windows 10 disk encryption keys to its servers. The company says it was a deliberate decision based on weighing up the worst case scenarios. The encryption key in question is not related to logging ... into and running Windows itself. Instead its an encryption of the entire hard drive of the device running Windows 10. This means that if somebody physically steals your computer, they can't make any sense of the data, even if it's been copied to another device (using a disk image backup, for example). Encryption Key Would Help Computer Thieves ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed the latest Windows 10 update has messed up Word 2016 for some users. Fixing the mistake is possible but somewhat complicated. The problem comes with the latest cumulative update to the system, known as Windows 10 Cumulative ... Update KB3124200, released December 17, 2015. The component update that's causing the problem accidentally renames a file during the update, which then causes macros, autotext entries, and styles to no longer load. Autocomplete Among The Messed-Up Features The file in question (normal.dotm) stores all the template information for Microsoft Word 2016 ... (view more)

A software engineer has accused Microsoft of going to extreme lengths to push users into upgrading to Windows 10. Josh Mayfield says Microsoft is in a cat and mouse game with users who are explicitly trying to avoid an upgrade. We've previously ... reported on Microsoft's tactics to make Windows 10 an automatic upgrade for many users . Microsoft went as far as to recently reclassify the operating system as an optional update to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, meaning it will automatically install for all users who have set their machines to trust Microsoft and accept all updates. As things ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tom H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I'm currently running Windows 7 and would like to upgrade to Windows 10. However, the one thing I'm greatly concerned about is how Windows 10 will track and share my information online. In your ... opinion is Windows 10 worth it or should I stick with Windows 7? " My response: That's a good question, and there a number of things to consider. Updates for the Life of the Machine In my opinion, it's definitely worth the upgrade to go from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 simply for the fact that you will be running the latest operating system from ... (view more)

Windows 10's first major public update is getting mixed, but generally positive reviews. Several small but potentially useful changes have also been spotted. The change, known as "Threshold 2" or simply "Fall Update" is the first big update that's ... been rolled out to general users. It brings together a series of smaller sets of tweaks that have previously been delivered to people in Microsoft test programs. In effect the update is the closest thing to the old-school Service Packs, though such updates should come far more frequently with Windows 10. Boot Time Reduced ... (view more)